Colorado Dem: Vets should not have magazines because 'some' are mentally ill

While debating a gun control measure in the Colorado Senate Friday, Democratic State Sen. Mary Hodge urged fellow lawmakers to reject an amendment that would let veterans, existing military members and their families own high-capacity magazines by arguing that “some" return "with significant mental health problems,” Twitchy reported Saturday.

"Yes," she said, "these are all great and wonderful people, but some of them come back with significant mental health problems and I think we need to check through that first."

Republican Kent Lambert, the senator who introduced the amendment, engaged Hodge in a short debate on the amendment, responding to her attack on veterans returning from combat and arguing that current law already address those with mental illness.

"Mr. Chair, I really object to this stereotypical viewpoint that all military veterans, that all military returnees have mental health problems," he said.

"Of course our active duty military people suffer from traumas of war," he added. "They have since the Civil War. They’ve gone through battle fatigue. They’ve gone through soldier’s disease, in the Civil War is what they called it."

"But to stereotypically say that we’re just going to have a blanket policy in this state saying that military veterans, who if they have mentally deficient problems or if they have traumatic stress and they’ve been diagnosed they’re not eligible to get weapons anyway. It’s already part of the law," he explained.

After Lambert made his case, Hodge countered by saying she did not say that "all” veterans had mental problems.

"I said 'some,'” she argued.

The amendment failed to pass on a party line vote, meaning that because "some" veterans may have mental health issues, all veterans in Colorado will be banned from owning high-capacity magazines.

The vote did not sit well with a number of people.

"The (Colorado Democrats) can now add soldiers to the list of women and industry of whom they don't trust or care about," tweeted "Jason Meisner."

"Do you think saying Vets are unstable will help you in CO during the next election?" asked "Chris Johnson."

"I'm born and raised in Colorado and what was supposed to be the wild west is now a progressive cesspool," wrote a commenter at Weasel Zippers.

"What has happened to Colorado?" asked another reader. "It's become some strange, skewed slice of insanity."

Five of the seven gun control measures passed the Democratic-controlled Senate. Two bills -- the controversial campus concealed-carry ban and a measure that would make gun makers and retailers liable for related crimes -- were tabled by their primary sponsors, KDVR reported.

A final vote is scheduled for Monday.

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